Judges, prosecution clubs refuse to hand over Nile River bank premises to military agency representatives in joint committee

The State Council and Administrative Prosecution associations, whose premises are located along the banks of the Nile River in Manial, have refused to hand over the sites to a committee comprising representatives of the military’s National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) and the Nile River Protection Authority, which falls under the authority of the Irrigation Ministry, according to one of the club heads who spoke to Mada Masr as well as an official document we reviewed.

Last week, the committee presented itself to the two clubs, made up of a few thousand judges and counsels registered with the State Council and the Administrative Prosecution. 

The Nile River’s banks along the island of Manial represent a new venture for the NSPO, which has been granted sway over multiple assets along Cairo’s riverfront in recent years.

The two clubs are among a number of establishments along the Nile’s west bank in Manial that are facing expulsion from premises they have operated from for years.

Public historical and entertainment sites and professional clubs are among the establishments affected.

They include the Floating Theater, the Om Kalthoum Park, the Administrative Prosecution Club, the State Council Club, Helwan University’s Tourism and Hotel Management Faculty and Cairo University’s Teaching Staff Club —  all of which announced last week that they had received notices from the NSPO, canceling the usufruct contracts for their premises next to the Nile.

The notices also ordered the immediate evacuation of any establishments on these lands. The entities have all called on the president to intervene and overturn the decision.

The new committee demanding their evacuation, according to an official report about the State Council Club of which Mada Masr obtained a copy, was handed management rights to the plot of land, which is owned by the Irrigation Ministry under the provisions of a prime ministerial decree. 

According to the report, prime ministerial decree 2334/2023 laid out a framework for management rights to be conferred from the clubs to the committee, and for the NSPO to manage the river landings and the mooring platforms.

Committee representatives arrived at the premises of the State Council Club to oversee the enforcement of the decision on October 17, according to the report. 

But the head of the State Council Club, Judge Abdel Salam al-Naggar, refused to comply immediately. 

According to the report, Naggar cited seven reasons for his refusal. These included the fact that the current premises are the only ones available for State Council judges, and that they are crucial in managing their social affairs and services, which include looking after the families of deceased members. The club is also where members hold discussions regarding the cases they are working on, Naggar noted.

In the report, other reasons for Naggar’s refusal included the fact that the club houses five governmental offices, none of which can be transferred without the consent of their respective ministries. These include a branch of the registrar office, a Traffic Directory office, a postal services office, a National Railway Authority office and an immunization office belonging to the Health Ministry. 

Naggar said in the report that communication was ongoing with the justice minister to intervene in the matter. 

Mada Masr reached out to Naggar to ask about the potential scenarios the club is contemplating to deal with the decree, and the degree to which the Justice Ministry has supported their position but received no response by the time of publication. 

Just days earlier, a similar committee sent representatives to the Administrative Prosecution Club premises, also on Abdel Aziz al-Saoud Street, according to the head of the association, Counsel Abdel Raouf Moussa.

Moussa told Mada Masr that he had refused to hand over management rights on October 14 to prevent the enforcement of the decision to reclaim the land. He said he informed the committee that the club is “the only breathing space for 7,000 counsels in the Administration Prosecution Authority,” and that there are no alternative locations for the club to relocate to.

The club has consistently paid its usufruct fees on time, said Moussa. He noted that he is in communication with various government bodies to negotiate and explore the possibility of reversing the decision.

According to the official report, the joint committee tasked with managing the Administrative Prosecution Club includes a representative from the NSPO, General Islam Mohamed Ibrahim, along with Engineer Ahmed Mostafa Fahmy and Mostafa Hamdy as representatives from the Nile River Protection Authority, as well as the head of the club. 

The committee was formed with the mandate to transfer the management rights to the club’s lands, located on the Nile’s west bank in Rawda island and bordered by the Administrative Prosecution Club and the Om Kalthoum Park.

The committee decided to reclaim management rights to the land and hand them back to the Irrigation Ministry, the legal owner, and to take custody of it until it could be listed in a public auction. The State Judges Club head was instructed to provide the NSPO with financial clearance documents proving payment of electricity, water and sewage and other utility bills, within ten days from the originally set handover date on October 15, according to the report. 

So far, it is not clear how the committee will respond to the clubs’ non-compliance.

As for the other clubs and establishments set to lose their premises, many have also expressed objection to the decision. 

The board of Cairo University’s Teaching Staff Club released a statement opposing the move, saying on Friday that the club was actively pursuing appropriate solutions and exploring all legal avenues to retain its premises "in a manner that does not conflict with the interests of its members or national interests."

Helwan University’s Tourism and Hotel Management Faculty took a similar stance, issuing a statement to warn that the decision "places the faculty in a difficult position, threatening its presence at its current location, which has been part of the faculty's identity and history for decades." 

The statement also said that “the location is closely connected to the surrounding tourism and hospitality activities, enhancing the educational and practical experiences of the students.”

Losing its strategic location could negatively impact its academic and training objectives for both students and teaching staff, the faculty said, creating difficulties in relocation and adaptation.

The NSPO has been granted control of properties along the Nile River’s bank elsewhere in Cairo and Giza in recent years. 

In 2020, the NSPO took over the management of Nile River landings in Greater Cairo, after assuming the responsibilities of the General Authority for Reconstruction Projects and Agricultural Development in overseeing these lands from Shobra to Helwan.

Since December 2020, the NSPO has put up some of these lands for auction for tourism and commercial investment purposes.